In Nyeri, Kenya a young man named Peterson Mwangi has created a way to start and switch off a car engine, via an SMS command from his cell phone. This is a lot like Morris Mbetsa’s anti-theft vehicle system using SMS of a couple years ago.
Yesterday I met a lady who takes the bark from a certain type of tree, pulps it and makes paper. This paper is then sold as a specialty gift paper to tourists and others. It’s an example of Malagasy entrepreneurship, where the whole family is part of, and all supported by, this business. The manufacturing takes place in their backyard, the retail sales from their front porch.
In a rather laborious process, they first pulp the bark, then lay it out on a big sheet and submerge it in water. It’s then taken out after it has settled evenly and is decorated while still wet with flowers. Once dried, they can create everything from cards to boxes. The cards and more elaborate items sell for around $1 each, which nets a healthy profit from the original cost of the bark, which is a couple dollars per kilo.
Maker Faire Africa 2010 has begun in Nairobi, Kenya. This is the second of what is becoming an annual event, an event that seeks to shed some light on the inventors, innovators and artists creating practical and interesting ideas – mostly from Africa’s informal sector.
This year, besides having jua kali creators from Kenya, we also have makers from Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa. It’s a great turnout, and continues the tradition from Ghana last year.
We’re seeing all kinds of incredible ideas brought to life. Here are a couple:
A customized bicycle, with an accessory that lets you charge your phone via dynamo:
A robotic porridge cooking machine, made by a Malawian inventor:
Artistic sunglasses, made from locally available materials:
More pictures in the Maker Faire Africa group
Sam Todo, a student in Togo, creates a working robot out of old TV parts and other used electronics.
(h/t Maneno)
[Note: Somaliland is different than Somalia.]
These are the kinds of stories and projects that you just can’t make up. We’ve written about Nigerian Mubarak Abdullahi’s home made helicopter a couple years ago from old car parts. It appears that 3 Somaliland men built a helicopter too, using scrap metal and an old van engine.
Much like the Nigerian one, there is no video footage of this one flying. It’s not easy to build a machine that looks and acts like a helicopter, but it’s a lot easier than making one that flies. It does take a lot of drive, thinking and skill to build even these models, but I won’t be truly impressed until I see a video of one taking off and landing.
“The trio, Mohamed Abdi Barkadle, Saed Abdi Jide and Abdi Farah Lidan said the purpose of their helicopter was to be used to fight fire in the city and surrounding area. They receive no major sponsors, financial nor material support from any one including the government, it is a three men vision and ingenuity.”
Now, the question is… Could we get the three (and the helicopter) to Maker Faire Africa in Nairobi this August?
I was driving down a street in Nairobi today and did a double-take when I saw a man standing by a motorized bicycle. One u-turn (of questionable legality) later and I was chatting with Samuel Magethe, a local carpenter who does house calls. Apparently, he usually carries his toolbox and wood supplies on the back of the bicycle, though he didn’t have them with him today. He has used the bike for 2 years and says that it’s a great help to him as he gets older and has problems with the hills.
Motorized Bicycles in Kenya from WhiteAfrican on Vimeo.
I talked with Samuel for a while and found out that he had bought the engine and bicycle in downtown Nairobi. Since I had to go downtown anyway, I decide to hunt out the seller and see if I could get the background story on where the motors come from and the specs on them.
It turns out that the engines, and bicycles, are imported from the ADTEC Corporation in Japan. (As an aside, it appears that Adtec motorcycles are part of the big influx of Asian motorcycles being used as taxis in E. Africa.) It’s a 48cc 2-stroke engine that has a top speed of 40Kph (25mph). The tank can hold 2 litres of fuel and they claim that it gets 70 kilometres per litre.
You can buy the bicycle plus engine for 15,000 Ksh ($200) or just the motor for 10,000 Ksh ($135).
The company that sells them in Kenya, Adventure Technology Company Ltd, has their main office in downtown Nairobi, where they had their last two bikes that weren’t sold. In 2009 they imported 500 bicycles and sold them in their 13 branches across the country. The branch manager, Julius Lumumba, tells me it’s a good business, and they sell very quickly – especially up country in places like Kakamega, Bunguma and Kisumu.
[Note: I forgot my cameras today, so I just had my iPhone to do the pictures/video with, thus the lower-res, sorry.]
My daughter and I had a lot of fun on Lamu island, off the coast of Kenya, earlier this year. One of the items we came across was this coconut handbag. Some had designs, some were raw, all were incredibly cool.
If I remember correctly, I bargained poorly and bought it for 150/= ($2). The problem was that the merchant new how badly my daughter wanted it so he knew I was stuck. 
This is the one we ended up buying:
Yes, these are mainly for tourists. However, it’s a good showcase of local reuse of what would otherwise be garbage for microentrepreneurial gain.
If you’ve been reading AfriGadget for a while, you know of a name that keeps popping up over and over – William Kamkwamba. He was first written about by another blogger friend Mike McKay and then subsequently covered here on AfriGadget a good 3 years ago. His windmills and the story behind it are an inspiration for many. There is now a book, a documentary and a foundation all set up around the inspired story of windmills from Malawi.
As luck would have it, I have 2 extra copies of William’s new book. I’d like to share that with you, the readers of the blog. To do that, I want to challenge you to send in an AfriGadget-like story, picture or video. Just write it and attach the pictures in an email to main@afrigadget.com. I’ll review them and pick the ones that I think best fits the blog. It’ll be posted here with attribution to you.
We’ve got two weeks until Oct 31, so I’ll give one book away each week. Let’s see what you’ve got! And, yes, I’ll mail the book anywhere in the world.
Note: the best AfriGadget stories come with pictures, so make sure you send those in as well.
He’s been doing his book tour in the US this month, hitting some pretty big shows, including ABCs Good Morning America and the Daily Show with John Stewart (videos below).
William Kamkwamba on Good Morning America
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| William Kamkwamba | ||||
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Football Made in Africa is a site put together by a Belgian outfit called Take Five that will air 50 shows that are 1m30s each. It’s a push for themselves and their content before the 2010 Football World Cup taking place in South Africa next year. It’s extremely well done, but that’s not why I’m writing about it here on AfriGadget.
Here’s how to use a condom to create a football bladder.
